The present application claims its priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 11-269624 filed on Sep. 24, 1999, and the disclosure of the present application reflects that of the Japanese patent application.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact and a contact assembly using the contact, and more particularly to an electrical connection contact used for inspecting circuits of electronic devices and an electronic device connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, there have been techniques for inspecting a circuit to be tested or forming a connector by obtaining a contact pressure between an electrically conductive contact and a circuit terminal utilizing the deformation of an elastic body which deforms in the vertical direction and a force generated by the deformation so as to establish an electrical conduction between the contact and the circuit terminal. In such a conventional contact, a coil spring is generally used as the elastic body.
In recent years, however, along with the development in a technique for fabricating an integrated circuit, the circuitry thereof has become extremely miniaturized, and the pitch required in the conductive portion of a contact in a device for testing the circuitry has been also reduced. A connector for connecting various electronic apparatuses with each other has been also miniaturized, and consequently, the pitch required in a terminal portion thereof has been greatly reduced. Thus, a space which can be occupied by an elastic body material in a single contact has become insufficient, thereby making it difficult to realize a contact having an appropriate spring constant. If the amount of elastic deformation is reduced, the range of motion is narrowed. Therefore, an appropriate contact pressure can not be obtained if the manufacturing error of the contact, an error in machine stop position (i.e., the position at which the movement of the machine is stopped) during the contact operation of a device having the contact therein, or the like, occurs.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems. A first object of the present invention is to provide a contact capable of realizing an appropriate motion stroke and an appropriate contact pressure even when a space between circuit terminals is reduced as in an electronic circuit included in an integrated circuit, or the like.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a contact assembly capable of having an appropriate space occupied by a deformation portion and capable of coping with the manufacturing error of a contact and variations in machine stop position of the circuit terminals.
In order to achieve the above-described objects, the invention according to the first aspect of the present invention is a contact made of a thin-plate-like material, which comprises an input section to be in contact with a terminal of a device to be tested at one end thereof, and an output section to be connected with a terminal of a circuitry at the other end thereof. An elastic deformation section, which elastically deforms with respect to an external force, stands between the input section and the output section, and the elastic deformation section has a beam structure winding in a direction generally perpendicular to a direction in which the elastic deformation section deforms when received the external force. Accordingly, the deformation section with an appropriate length within a volume allowed for one contact can be obtained.
The invention according to the second aspect of the present invention has characteristics as follows. In the above-described contact, the elastic deformation section has a curved beam structure extending symmetrically in both directions perpendicular to the direction in which the external force is applied thereto, and is curved around once or a plurality of times. Accordingly, the deformation section with an appropriate length within a volume allowed for one contact can be obtained.
The invention according to the third aspect of the present invention has characteristics as follows. In the above-described contact, the output section is provided in a fixed section, and a void portion is provided within the fixed section. Accordingly, assembly can be facilitated.
The invention according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is a contact assembly which comprises a plurality of thin-plate-like contacts each including an input section to be in contact with a terminal of an electronic device to be tested at one end thereof; an output section to be connected with a terminal of a testing circuitry at the other end thereof; and an elastic deformation section standing between the input section and the output section. Each of the plurality of contacts is arranged so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to an x-axis of an x-y rectangular coordinate system. Accordingly, contacts including deformation sections, each of which has a length longer than that of a lattice pitch, can be used.
The invention according to the fifth aspect of the present invention has characteristics as follows. In the above-described contact assembly, the x-y rectangular coordinate system is an x-y rectangular coordinate system whose axes are set respectively in row and column directions of a planar lattice formed by arranging the plurality of terminals of the electronic device to be tested or the plurality of terminals of the testing circuitry in a lattice shape, and each of the plurality of contacts is arranged so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to an x-axis of the x-y rectangular coordinate system. Accordingly, contacts including deformation sections, each of which has a length longer than that of a lattice pitch, can be used.
The invention according to the sixth aspect of the present invention has characteristics as follows. In the above-described contact assembly, the plurality of contacts are arranged with respect to the planar lattice in which the plurality of terminals of the electronic device to be tested or the plurality of terminals of the testing circuitry are arranged in a lattice shape so as to be disposed in a crosswise direction with the predetermined angle within a lattice pitch; so as to cover a range of a dimension longer than that of the lattice pitch; and so as not to cause interference between the plurality of contacts. Accordingly, contacts including deformation sections, each of which has a length longer than that of the lattice pitch, can be used in a narrow region without causing interference between the contacts.
The invention according to the seventh aspect of the present invention has characteristics as follows. In the above-described contact assembly, the plurality of contacts are arranged in a crosswise direction within the lattice pitch. Accordingly, contacts including deformation sections, each of which has a length longer than that of the lattice pitch, can be used by effectively utilizing the area of the narrow region.
In the invention according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the above-described contact assembly further comprises: fixing means which engages with the fixed section of the contact and at least has rectangular holes; guide means of the contact connected to the fixing means, which at least has rectangular holes; and a circuitry having a circuit terminal to be connected with the output section of the contact. Accordingly, the assembly direction of the contacts is fixed, and high precision as to the arrangement of the contacts is achieved.
The invention according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is a circuit testing device which comprises: a contact assembly formed by arranging a plurality of thin-plate-like contacts each including an input section to be in contact with a terminal of an electronic device to be tested at one end thereof; an output section to be connected with a terminal of a testing circuitry at the other end thereof; and an elastic deformation section standing between the input section and the output section; and a testing circuit board connected to the output section. Each of the plurality of contacts is arranged so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to an x-axis of an x-y rectangular coordinate system, and a terminal of a circuit to be tested is contacted with the input section. Accordingly, a highly-integrated circuit can be tested using contacts including deformation sections, each of which has a length longer than that of a lattice pitch.
The invention according to the tenth aspect of the present invention is a connector which comprises: a contact assembly formed by arranging a plurality of thin-plate-like contacts each including an input section to be in contact with a terminal of an electronic device to be tested at one end thereof; an output section to be connected with a terminal of a testing circuitry at the other end thereof; and an elastic deformation section standing between the input section and the output section; and a cable connected to the output section. Each of the plurality of contacts is arranged so as to have a predetermined angle with respect to an x-axis of an x-y rectangular coordinate system. Accordingly, the connection of an electronic device having a highly-integrated connection terminal can be performed using contacts including deformation sections, each of which has a length longer than that of a lattice pitch.